"Everything concerning a nation (an ethnic cultural group) has to do with salvation. It is the job of the people of that nation, it is their affair to respond to salvation. If we would be consistent, I think we would see that the field of culture is theirs. Ours is the gospel.
An evangelist, a missionary must respect the culture of a people, not destroy it. The incarnation of the gospel, the flesh and blood which must grow on the gospel is up to the people of a culture (24)."
"St. Paul and St. Peter said as much: 'The loving kindness of God has appeared to all men... God let's each nation (each tribe, each culture) go its own way... He is evident to them in the happiness he gives them.'
....St. Paul says this happiness is a sign of God among them. He was there before we ever got there. It is simply up to us to bring him out so they recognize him (44-45)"
Excerpts from: Christianity Rediscovered by Vincent J. Donovan
This picture is a powerful representation of what God has destined for Filipinos, and not only them, but all of us who have felt overlooked, belittled, or misunderstood. The author of this quote is named Carlos P. Romulo, an influential Filipino statements in the mid 1900s. The picture reminded me a lot of Erik Fish's blog on "Throwing Rocks at Giants" (http://erikfish.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/throwing-rocks-at-giants/). It is a powerful reminder of the spiritual authority we have in Christ in breaking down strongholds and calling out for the kingdom of heaven to come down here on earth!
So the more I research about the Philippines, the more and more I am finding out about their unique destiny. Internationally-known prophetess Cindy Jacobs was in the Philippines this past March 2009, and she prophesied about the destiny of the Philippines and God's heart for the nation(here is the written out prophesy). Then as I did more research on the internet, I found a of pretty crazy things. There has been continuous 24/7/365 prayer going on in at least one place in the Philippines for at least the last year as well as some home churches being planted (24/7 prayer Philippines). Another crazy statistic - in 2003, more than half of the Philippines was under the age of 15 (Philippines age stat). That means, there is a huge youth population about 21 years old an younger that makes up the majority of the Philippines. Can somebody say Filipino youth revival? This is crazy!!!
Then, to further confirm the things God put on my heart yesterday, today I found a movement started by a couple using arts and media to capture the imaginations of the Filipino youth and remind them of their unique identity and destiny. They have just finished publishing a new book called Ako ay Pilipino - a tagalog phrase which means "I am Filipino." Check out some of the missions statement:
We believe that this country has a great destiny and is capable of being great in Asia, and in the whole world. The possibilities for success are beyond imagination, but we understand that this message needs to be revealed to the masses. It needs to be realized. It needs to be proclaimed, sparking hope and light in the midst of the present uncertainty...
Through books, short films, music, events, and what all kinds of media, it is our desire to awaken this generation of Filipinos to this potential and bright destiny the nation has in Christ.
Ako ay Pilipino is open to volunteers. If you're a Christian writer, artist, film maker... who wants to run with our vision, do get in touch with us and let's see what we can do for our nation
This just really crazy to me because it goes right along the lines of what God has been putting on my heart as well as those around me. Bringing awareness and using books, music, films, etc, to awaken Filipinos to their destiny!
This book is actually going to be premiered at an event called Jesus Revolution Now!: A Solemn Assembly - which will essentially be a day of prayer and fasting specifically for the nation and its leaders this coming November 30.
So ya, I'm not really sure what to think at this point besides the fact that God is on the move. He's calling the Filipinos to remember the identity and step into their destiny. He's going to use them to bless the nations. Crazy...
Taken from the foreword of the book Ako ay Pilipino:
"We believe that this country has a great destiny and is capable of being great in Asia, and in the whole world. The possibilities for success are beyond imagination, but we understand that this message needs to be revealed to the masses. It needs to be realized. It needs to be proclaimed, sparking hope and light in the midst of the present uncertainty. For this reason, we began tracing the richness of the Philippine history to understand how we can move forward from here.
As we set out to write and design this book in August 2009, our country was going through a series of dramatic events from the political scene to natural calamities. And in the midst of it all, something was stirring in the air: a spark of patriotism and passion to see change in the nation. This book comes as a timely response to Filipinos nationwide who are crying out for more.
"What is the ultimate goal of this book, you ask? It's simple. We want to help change the mindset of Filipinos today, declaring their true identity as God intended them to be, and thus help fulfill the destiny that is theirs to claim.
Today, people are searching for the answers to many questions: "Who am I as a Filipino?" "Where am I going?" "What is my role in the Philippines?"
Obviously, one single book cannot answer all of these questions. But as you hear about the rich history of this nation - where we have come and where we are going - we believe that God will begin to open your eyes to the bigger picture of the Philippines' place in the world today.
Let the tiny seed of faith, hope and love for this nation begin to burst forth into life, redirecting the destiny of this nation."
David and Lorna Joannes Founders - Ako ay Pilipino Noon at Ngayon
So, I was woken up this morning, and the first thought that pops into my head is wake up and get out of bed because I have this feeling that God had something to tell me. I felt like I needed to get out of bed and go for a walk. It was like around 5:00am. I normally am not awake at 5am, and I don’t normally feel compelled to wake up, go for a walk, and hear from God. I have been woken up in the past, but I have never actually woken up and gotten out of bed. I have heard of other people doing it, and so this morning, I was just really desperate to hear from God because I felt like I wasn’t really hearing his voice lately.
So I get out of bed, put on some clothes and my huge winter jacket. I walk down stairs and go outside through the garage. The whole time I was feeling super awkward and uncomfortable. I felt like a creeper going outside in the dark hours of the morning in my huge jacket walking around my neighborhood. I seriously felt so fearful and awkward. Even leaving my house, I felt weird. I was almost embarrassed being awake that early and walking out in my huge winter coat in AZ (even though it was really cold). I walked passed my brother in the living room, and I was just hoping not to be seen by him or anyone else.
As I walked outside, again I was feeling super awkward and uncomfortable as I walked down the sidewalk making everyone’s motion lights go off in the neighborhood. As I walked, I looked up at the sky and the stars were pretty visible. It was a pretty beautiful, early morning sky. I think I was looking at Orion’s belt, but I’m not really sure. Anyway, again I felt awkward just staring at the sky even though it was super early and there was no one around. I feel like God was trying to talk to me through that, but I just wasn’t listening because I was too caught up in my insecurities. I was feeling really self-conscious, and I kept walking. There were already people getting ready for work, and so there were cars around which made me feel even more self-conscious.
I made my way to the park and sat on a cold bench. As I sat there, I just felt more and more uncomfortable and foolish-looking. I kept looking around to see if anyone was around. Not only was I super self-conscious, but I was really scared that someone would come up and see me or something which is really weird and irrational because I live in a really nice neighborhood, and it was really early in the morning and dark so no one would be around. As I sat on the bench, I became colder and colder, and I felt like an idiot just sitting there unable to hear from God and feeling super insecure.
So I started walking back, awkwardly turning and trying to avoid passing cars. I walked for a bit looked up at the stars. The constellations looked absolutely amazing. So I kept walking, and then a thought dawned on me. Why was I feeling so insecure? Why was I so self-conscious? Then, I realized that I was thinking so much about how I viewed myself and how others viewed me that it was actually distracting me from hearing from God and stepping out in faith – not only in this situation but in my everyday life. I realized that so often I am afraid to take a step of faith because I am a) super self-conscious and insecure with myself and b) super self-conscious and insecure about the ways I think others perceive me. Because of that, I have doubted hearing from God and have feared stepping out in faith on a day to day basis whether it be talking to people and sharing what God has put on my heart, praying for them, or whatever else. Insecurity and fear of others has been hindering me from stepping into what God has put on my heart and destined me to do.
So that was the first powerful realization as I walked back home. With that, God began to really affirm me by reminding me of his promises to Moses and to Joshua. He reminded me how he showed up in signs and wonders for Moses despite his insecurity and fear of talking to the pharaoh and speaking. He reminded me of Joshua and how He made Joshua a leader who the others followed. He reminded me of Joshua 1:9 where He tells Joshua not to be afraid or terrified but to have courage because the Lord, God was with Joshua wherever he went. God really began to affirm me as a leader and the calling He has on my life. I realized that my fear and my insecurity was at times getting the best of my faith in God to come through for me just like he did for Moses and Joshua and so many others before me.
Then, I felt God speaking to me again, but this time about Filipinos. The thought that came to my mind was God calling me back to the Filipino student community at ASU. When I first got into this crazy journey, it all started with reaching out the Filipinos on campus. I felt a strong urge to again go to them and love them. I felt God calling me back to the thing that he first called me to. I felt like God was telling me to tell them who they are. Tell the Filipinos who God has made them to be.
God has been really speaking to me about my cultural identity lately as I have been doing my honors thesis. I have learned more about the prophetic destiny of Filipinos and what God has called them to do. The Philippines was named after King Philip II of Spain, who was consequently named after Philip, the evangelist in the Bible. Thus, the very name of the Philippines carries its prophetic destiny to reach the nations. There is so much more as well. I feel like I am just scratching the surface of what God has called the Filipinos to, and as I have learned more I have felt so excited and so empowered. I feel like God wants me to share this with the Filipino youth and the Church as a whole to awaken the destiny of His people. So, hearing and being reminded of that was nice, but I wasn’t really fully sure if this is what God wanted me to do. Was he really calling me to go back to the Filipino community and tell them their destiny. But as I sat and thought about it, it gave me a new sense of confidence to begin to research more and see what God was doing through my honors thesis. So I get back to my house around 6am, and I got on my computer and simply Googled “Philippines.” I caught up on some current events and read up on some stuff. And then, I typed up some searches linking the naming of the Philippines with King Philip II. What I found rocked me, and I believe really confirmed God’s desire to wake up the Filipino youth to recognize the powerful destiny He has for us. I'm thinking that maybe God really does want me to share this crazy stuff.
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